Publication Order of Short Stories / Novellas

KJ Charles, who hails from the UK, is a woman of letters. Other occupations of KJ Charles include being a freelance editor and she doubles up as a blogger. She is domiciled in London, alongside her spouse and two young children. In terms of writing, Charles’ niche is particularly romance, suspense, and gay and lesbian genres. In the context of editing, KJ Charles prefers handling books in the fantasy and historical romance, and juvenile literature genres. KJ Charles has written both standalone books and series of books. Her book series include two trilogies, a quadrilogy, and a quintet.

KJ Charles: Writing Ritual; Formative Years of Writing
According to KJ Charles, there are many ways through which a writer can plot their work. In KJ Charles’ case, she prefers to highlight the main points first then filling in afterwards. Before KJ Charles started publishing books, she would tell stories in her mind even though she never imagined that she would be a writer one day.

When KJ Charles started authoring books, she did not aspire to write books in the romance genre—she looked forward to writing fantasy. Everyday things inspire Charles’ literary work; for instance, of one her series was inspired by magpies which abounded in a park near her residence. In the context of a historical time-frame for her literary work, KJ Charles likes the Victorian era which she refers to as her imaginative playground because it saves her the trouble to write about modern conveniences such as cell phones which is no mean feat.

Section on Books
Incidentally, KJ Charles’ debut book is associated with other suchlike stories in three different series of books: ranging from A Charm of Magpies series (which is a trilogy) to The World of A Charm of Magpie series (which is a quintet) to the Rag and Bone series.Even then there are seven editions of KJ Charles debut book. The first edition was initially published in 2013, titled The Magpie Lord; and this book is shelved under the romance (particularly the m/m romance sub-genre), fantasy (especially paranormal and magic sub-genres), historical, and mystery genres.

Lucien Vaudrey is the featured central character in KJ Charles debut book. Meet protagonist Lucien Vaudrey: a tall and attractive blond with a penchant for dressing immaculately. Vaudrey, who hails from a noble family in London, is an Englishman who has been exiled in China since he was in his late teenage years; Vaudrey was prompted to go into exile because of his now deceased father’s cruelty and did not imagine returning to his home country. Vaudrey was at loggerheads with his brother too. During his stint in China, Vaudrey engaged in hideous activities such as smuggling.

The decisive moment in KJ Charles’ book, The Magpie Lord, is the sudden and unexpected deaths of Lucien Vaudrey’s father and sibling; their deaths are presumed suicides. Being a heir apparent, Vaudrey acquires the title of a lord; he is presently referred to as Lord Crane. When Vaudrey gets a sudden urge to kill himself, albeit unintentionally, he suspects there is something evil behind it. As such, he summons Stephen Day, a magician, in his quest for unraveling the odd incident. Despite his initial reservations due to Vaudrey’s father’s sinful life, Day warms towards Vaudrey and resolves to assist him get to the bottom of the life-threatening supernatural event. Lord Crane and Day’s acquaintance transcends professional relationship and segues into a romantic affair in this captivating award-nominated book.

KJ Charles Awards
In 2014, KJ Charles was nominated for the DABWAHA Romance Tournament in the Best Gay/Lesbian/Transgender Romance category, thanks to her book The Magpie Lord. In 2015, KJ Charles bagged the All About Romance (AAR) Annual Poll, in the Best LGBT Romance category, courtesy of her 2014 book titled Think of England—the said book is the first one in a similarly titled book series. Also in 2014, this book was recommended for the Spectrum Award.

In 2016, KJ Charles clinched the All About Romance (AAR) Annual Reader Poll, in the best LGBTQ+ Romance category, in virtue of her 2015 book entitled A Seditious Affair; this is the second book in the Society of Gentlemen series. During the said literary awards, the said book received a honorary mention, in the section of Best Historical Romance Set in the UK. In 2015, KJ Charles clinched the Rainbow Awards, in the Best Gay Book section, courtesy of her 2015 book entitled The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal; this is the fourth book in a similarly titled series of books penned by KJ Charles. In 2015, KJ Charles was recommended for the Spectrum Awards, thanks to her book entitled A Case of Possession.

Best KJ Charles Books
The following are the best books authored by KJ Charles in virtue of winning or being nominated for literary prizes. The first is the aforementioned The Magpie Lord. The second is called A Seditious Affair. This book features protagonist Silas Mason, a disoriented idealist and revolutionary, who has anonymous weekly sexual encounters with Dominic Frey, a devoted nobleman. Frey is infatuated with Mason, prompting him to come to Mason’s aid when the latter is sentenced to death because of his political activism. The third is called The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal. This is a tell it like is recount of chronicler Robert Caldwell concerning Caldwell’s two decade-long companionship with a ghost-hunter called Simon Feximal.

Other Book Series You May Like
Readers who liked the books authored by KJ Charles also liked the following related series of books. The first is called Whyborne & Griffin series, authored by Jordan L. Hawk. This series comprises of nine major works and features protagonists Percival Endicott Whyborne alongside Griffin Flaherty. The former is a solitary academic while the latter is a former Pinkerton investigator. Whyborne and Flaherty, who are lovers too, team up and start unraveling a series of paranormal incidents.

The second is titled Enlightenment series and is penned by Joanna Chambers. The quadrilogy features protagonists David Lauriston and Murdo Balfour, a low-class citizen and lord, respectively. Lauriston, a hitherto celibate person and legal practitioner, is in love with Lord Balfour amid a damnable past life that threatens to throw a wrench in their relationship. The third is named PsyCop, authored by Jordan Castillo Price. Basically, the title of the series is a synthesis of the words psyshic and cop; it denotes a psychic-oriented law enforcer. Composed of seven major books, this series features protagonist Victor Bayne, a gay clairvoyant who solves murder mysteries by interviewing dead eyewitnesses.

All Gabriel Allon fans will be eagerly anticipating this one - your favourite spy is back in The New Girl, coming to bookshelves in mid-July. In this one, a girl is kidnapped from an exclusive private school in Switzerland and Gabriel Allon is brought on board to find her. More Details.

Recommendations

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Featured Series

if you are a fan of Jack Reacher you need to read the "Peter Ash" series by Nick Petrie. Endorsed by Lee Child himself, this is a fantastic book series and is the best recommendation I can give for any fans of Reacher. More details.

Featured Author

If you’re a fan of standalone thrillers then be sure to read any of the standalones by Brad Parks. The guy is a master! I’ve read over 50 different authors of standalone thrillers in the last year and no-one stands out like Brad. More Details.

Did You Know…

Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly Fiction Competition when he was a senior in college. He has an estimated number of over 400 million copies sold and his work has been published in more than 38 languages all over the world. His books have topped New York’s bestsellers’ list thirteen times and he also has to his credit of becoming the bestseller in countries as diverse as Sweden and Japan.